The Adventures of Garrett Squared: Christmas At Our Place...

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Christmas At Our Place...

Well, you have seen my brother's house all decorated up for Christmas so I thought I would invite you to our place.

I finally put the tree up on Sunday so come on in and see what we have done...

This stocking was made by me from ribbons that my grandmother saved from the funeral arrangements of my grandfather decades ago when ribbon was actually satin and silk.

Cranberries and barn stars swag across the slideout opening in the living room

With this sign of invitation to all.

My snowman perches next to a couple of my birdhouses on top of the window valance.

Across the room are the dog's stockings hung with care from the window valance.

And here is our tree. It travels with us in the basement (the area in the underbelly of the 5th wheel). When we decided to take to the road, I gave myself two metal file boxes (each about the size of a full sized file cabinet drawer). The two file boxes hold my Christmas/spring/Easter and my July 4th/Autumn/Halloween decorations. If I overflow those boxes I have to get rid of something. Period! All of you who know me, KNOW this is really a big deal for me!

Above the window are two ornaments that some friends gave us this year knowing we are crazy NASCAR fans.

Each year we get an ornament that has meaning to us.

This was from 2006 when we went with my brother, Tom and his wife Nina and their kids for the show in Wichita.

This one was from 2009 when we were up in the Hudson Valley in NY. Dunkin Donuts were everywhere, so we just couldn't resist this little guy!

2010 found us in Missouri at Kan-Do Kampground in Danville. The owners say it's all about the frog, so we decided on a frog. I looked and looked and Kathy, the owner, presented me with this little guy. So cute!

This is the 2011 ornament. A small camper with a wreath that says Missouri. This is because this is the year that we bought Little Blue here in Missouri. Little Blue is our little 24 ft guest house/office/vacation home.

This little red bird perches on the top of the tree. It is one of only two ornaments that we have from Gman's mom.

The gold ornament is the other ornament that we have from Gman's mom. See the little poinsettia? I found this at a restaurant called Marlenes in Williamsburg. They have a little second hand shop there that I like to check out while waiting for our food and there it was. It's so little and flat and perfect for us!

This Cardinal was also in the package and since we are in Cardinal country and the Cardinals won the World Series this year, why not?

Did I mention we are crazy NASCAR fans?
Can you guess who we follow?

So, take a nice look at the tree...

The glass is from our ride on the Branson Belle when we went to Branson this year.

Love our Labs!

A case of Coca-Cola in the "snow"

Thanks for coming by for a visit!

Merry Christmas and Happy Healthy New Year from our house to yours!

2 comments:

Girl TornadoDecember 20, 2011 at 9:46 AM
Hey Yvonne.... I've been such the delinquent online!! LOL We live right on the OK/KS border, south of Wichita, so we've narrowly escaped the wrath of this winter storm. I think we are just getting more rain this morning... after 2.5 inches yesterday. Our pond is mega-overflowing, after it lay barren all summer!

You've got your trailer fixed up so pretty and cozy and homey-like!! I just love the twinkly-lights at night, so warm and inviting. :)
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labbie1December 20, 2011 at 7:15 PM
Oz Girl--Yep. You are right down there by all the new casino action...You are gonna love the next tour of the rectory. They had a Wizard of Oz room and a bottle of wine from right down there by you! :) Pretty amazing after the drought all summer isn't it! Thanks for the kind words. Lovely to have you bounce in! :)
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The Mockingjay

It is with great sadness that I say goodbye to the characters of this Trilogy.

This 3rd and last book in The Hunger Games Trilogy was not remotely what I thought it would be. While the first two books were books about horrific competition and massive loss it was also about the indomitable will to live and thrive of the human spirit.

I thought that this book would be much as the other two. Our heros are tested and then survive to live happily ever after.

But, this book is much deeper and probably much more realistic than that. The thin skinned President Snowden in his extreme anger makes it clear that Katniss, her family and even her village are not going to be allowed to live in the peace that we anticipated after the first two books. To the end that President Snowden wants to see Katniss and everyone who follows her and her courage destroyed, we are drawn deeply into a story of battle both internal and external, love and loss and the dramatic results of a long lived, hard fought war while unsure of who is friend and who is foe.

The end of this book was a loss in many respects. The loss of a group of people to whom I was drawn and the loss of a way of life for those characters. While the war was won, the battles took their toll on all of the characters that we have come to know and love and their lives are forever changed by the end of this book and trilogy.

Catching Fire

This 2nd book in The Hunger Games Trilogy was even better than number one!

I read it in about a day and a half.

I simply could NOT put it down!

The main thrust of this book is the Quell games. Every 25 years the districts must take part in not one but two games to celebrate the domination of the Capitol.

If I go further than that with explanation, I will probably ruin #1 for you, so let's just say that the Mockingjay has a part in this and that the families of Peeta and Katniss as well as Gale are well represented.

The ending leaves us hungry for more at the edge of an abiss...

Now, on to book 3.

PS--Don't start this series without purchasing all three books because you will surely kick yourself if you can't go right to the next book!

The Hunger Games

Book 1 of the Trilogy:
GREAT READ! This was recommended to me by my hair stylist while I was in Missouri. I purchased it for my Kindle, but subsequently passed it up for other reads. My mistake! What an engaging book! Following Katniss and Peeta as well as the other characters in a richly written narrative of the Hunger Games which are a fight to the death each year of children chosen from each of the 12 poor downtrodden districts of the country of Penam for the enjoyment of the spoiled, protected class of people in the "Capital". Gripping and twisting right to the end! I liked it so much that the second I finished I felt like I couldn't let go of the characters and zipped right on to the second volume of the trilogy! RECOMMEND HIGHLY!

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin Roll by Josi S. Kilpack~~This book was recommended by another blogger who made it sound so good that I I just had to check t out. I purchased my copy for Kindle and really enjoyed it! The author writes a very fine mystery without using vulgarity or objectionable content which is refreshing. This book was a fun one for the autumn season when our thoughts turn to pumpkins, spices and a nip in the air.

The neighbor is rumored to be a witch and with several other colorful characters of dubious nature, we have a fun Halloween culinary novel.

The nice twist at the end of the story gives an interesting wrap-up to make this book a good light read.

In addition, the recipes sounded so good that I had to copy some of them down and try them--including the Pumpkin Roll of the book title. A good read and good recipes! What's better than that?

Pages

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Christmas At Our Place...

2 comments: